Lawrence O’Donnell: Maybe Weiner’s playing coy about the photo because of the size of that package; Update: Maybe the photo started out as one of me, says Weiner

posted at 10:21 pm on June 1, 2011 by Allahpundit

Via Mediaite, he’s kidding, obviously, but in service to a point. I can’t find the full clip yet to confirm Mediaite’s account, but here’s their description of the rest of the segment:

After the humorous introduction, O’Donnell gets serious– looking back at a history of liberal politicians that have survived sex scandals because their constituents admired their work. O’Donnell notes that, as much as he mocks Newt Gingrich and other Republicans for their private misgivings, he only does it because of their hypocrisy. “Nothing should matter to you less than the legal sexual conduct of [a politician],” he concluded, adding that he believed Rep. Weiner’s career was safe “no matter what he tweets.”

Ah yes, the hypocrisy. One of CNN’s anchors floated that idea tonight too, that maybe Weiner’s off-limits here because, unlike those preachy Republicans, he doesn’t lecture people about their sex lives. That’s the left’s evergreen fig leaf for why it’s cool to revel in GOP sex scandals but not Democrats’. Scott Brown is pro-choice, pro-civil union, and voted to repeal DADT, which puts him slightly to the left of where Bill Clinton was when he had his scandal. Anyone think Brown would get a pass from MSNBC if he got caught sending pics of his schwanz to some coed in Seattle? That’d certainly qualify as legal sexual conduct by a politician, yet I do believe it’d be mentioned on “The Last Word.”

Also, am I to understand from this that if Weiner now comes clean and admits that he accidentally tweeted the pic himself, everything’s copacetic even though his office falsely claimed he was the victim of a serious cybercrime? No penalty, moral or otherwise, for that? It’s a good thing he hired that private security firm to rubber-stamp his allegation that he was hacked, or else that could have been quite the sticky wicket.

Exit quotation: “Jack Levin, the chief executive of yFrog, the Twitter-affiliated image and video service that was used to upload the photo, said in an interview on Wednesday that his company did not have reason to believe that its user passwords were exposed or stolen.”

Update: Skip ahead to 4:00. This guy now seems to be saying that it could be a photo of him, but that it’s either taken “out of context” (cropped?) or possibly photoshopped to make it more embarrassing. Okay, I’ll play along. How many “innocent” photos of Congressman Anthony Weiner in his underwear are floating around and publicly accessible by nefarious photoshoppers or photo-croppers? If it hasn’t been ‘shopped but merely taken “out of context,” does that mean the bulge is authentic too? Stop me before I speculate again.

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I saw this entire rant as it was happening. He kept showing the picture. He was mad he had to pixelate it.
A nicer clip would have been Tingles Matthews scolding Joan Walsh and some NYT’s boob for their spin. Tingles! Tingles has NO THRILL for a little Weiner. Joan looked shell shocked with an “Am I on FoxNews?!” face.

Jack Levin, the chief executive of yFrog, the Twitter-affiliated image and video service that was used to upload the photo,said in an interview on Wednesday that his company did not have reason to believe that its user passwords were exposed or stolen.”

I assume this means that yfrog can tell whether this particular photo was uploaded from an IP address or device that has been used before in conjunction with this account.

If this is true, I guess technically it still could have been another person who did it – but it would have to have been someone close enough to him to both have access to the photo (or have taken it) and also have access to the yfrog account. Which pretty much means someone sexually involved with him.

Weiner must have been relieved to rush into the arms of Maddow after Luke Russert was so mean. Luke Russert! That boy can’t even play Democrat suck-up right. And they’ve spent months training him. MSNBC trying to spin him away now as a “tough interviewer” when they’re probably saying behind the scenes: “You want to keep your job around here?!”

Lawrence O’Donnell: Maybe Weiner’s playing coy about the photo because of the size of that package;

…or more than likely because he wants people to believe that’s him without having to admit it.

Someone who does know says without a doubt..it is not him or it is photo-shopped:

(via Instapundit)

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Dan Friedman agrees with Stewart: “As luck would have it, I workout in the same health club as Congressman Weiner. I’ve seen him in the shower and buck naked in the locker room. I can tell you without a doubt this is not a picture of the Congressman Weiner – no, make that the Congressman’s wiener – I know. Not by a long shot.” Maybe he’s just not as glad to see you, Dan.

…but please liberals…keep spinning how it is alright for a married Congressman to tweet photos of his junk in cheap underwear to young girls around the country…..

………but it is an outrage for a governor to hitch a helicopter ride to see his son play ball.

This guy now seems to be saying that it could be a photo of him, but that it’s either taken “out of context” (cropped?) or possibly photoshopped to make it more embarrassing.

You know, this is complete bullsh#t. Why do we have to play along and act like his responses make any F’ing sense? He may still claim that he was hacked or whatever. But there is no way he doesn’t know if that is him or not. He would know if he has taken photos of that nature.

This is just more of the infantilization of America, where everyone in the media has to nod politely and act as though his answers could possibly be true. I want one person in the media to ball up and say “Dude, quit F’ing lying right now. Just quit it.” Unbelievable.

To be honest, Wiener seems to be on the low end of average. Which makes me think this photo is likely genuine. Someone out to embarrass the Ween would have either shooped it much smaller or very obviously shooped in something like a donkey or Ron Jeremy. This looks like a guy sending a picture of his bulging junk as part of a sexually explicit chat. With a girl half his age and barely out of high school. Nice.

The only one that really matters is your wife right now and then your constituents. I doubt your constituents could care less, apparently they like Weiners!

Here is the rub though, the wife knows and if she stays with you that means the girth didn’t fit so she must acquit! Then we know Photoshop was employed and you really are a small man all around. Seems to me you lose all around just like everyone is saying. no good way out for you and OH YEAH, it seems Karma really does come back around.

You know, this is complete bullsh#t. Why do we have to play along and act like his responses make any F’ing sense? He may still claim that he was hacked or whatever. But there is no way he doesn’t know if that is him or not. He would know if he has taken photos of that nature.

This is just more of the infantilization of America, where everyone in the media has to nod politely and act as though his answers could possibly be true. I want one person in the media to ball up and say “Dude, quit F’ing lying right now. Just quit it.” Unbelievable.

JohnInCA on June 1, 2011 at 10:56 PM

Well said. The fact that several interviewers haven’t laughed at him is something else.

Please, he may have sent this picture, but it is not Weiner’s, um, you know.
He was known as ‘small but mighty’ when he posed for that hideous picture with the Jafro.

maryo on June 1, 2011 at 11:03 PM

The way he’s been acting, one wonders if he has a collection of these photos from various sources and that one of the causes of his embarrassment. Whatever the truth is, it’s apparently more embarrassing than the story of him sexting photos of his own anatomy to a coed.

BUT, To those who keep saying this is not a big deal we should move on…. Think about this, IF someone had this information on a sitting congressman and decided to blackmail him let’s say for national secrets, would THAT make it a “big deal”?

It was the same rational I made about Clinton YES things he does in his personal life CAN influence his JOB!!!
He perjured himself to conceal it, so whats the big deal of giving away a few secrets to a blackmailer to keep them quiet about his private life?

Ah yes, the hypocrisy. One of CNN’s anchors floated that idea tonight too, that maybe Weiner’s off-limits here because, unlike those preachy Republicans, he doesn’t lecture people about their sex lives.

So the Dems have no problem with congressmen sending their weiner pics to college girls because they see nothing wrong with this behavior? Perhaps we once again need to ask why the feminists are sitting out yet another Dem sex scandal?

Is it my imagination or did I see a trial baloon by the Obama administration and the DNC that they were going to try a “values” campaign next year because that gosh darn economy wasn’t going to help them out? Maybe their campaign slogan can be “Our moral standards are so low we can’t possibly disappoint you, not like those damn Republicans”

My guess is that Mrs. Weiner recognizes those nasty gray boxer briefs and their contents. We’ll likely be hearing from her soon – standing with her new attorney. Gloria Allred – where are you? Unless she decides to go the Hillary way and start screaming about how this is all a vast-right-wing-conspiracy. Either way, this is just pathetic.

Didn’t he already catch hell for consenting to pose nude in a women’s magazine thirty years ago? Similar or no?
KingGold on June 1, 2011 at 10:23 PM

Ah, no.
Brown didn’t try and claim that was a prank/hacking someone had pulled on him.
Brown didn’t point his finger at others saying this person hacked my accounts!
Brown wasn’t a Federal Congressman 30 years ago.

I like the Scott Brown analogy. I was thinking earlier today … just imagine if this were Todd Palin. Just think of the exploding heads and the vitriol and the sanctimony!
lizzieillinois on June 1, 2011 at 10:28 PM

Is Todd Palin a member of Congress?
In this fantasy of yours did Todd Palin deny he sent the picture?
Did Todd Palin falsely accuse someone else for his problem?

KingGold and lizzieillinois,
This has nothing to do with picture.
This has everything to do with “hacking” an account of a US Congressman, that’s a major felony.
It’s a National security issue.

All silliness aside, he said his account was hacked. Hacking an account, especially a CongressMEMBER(sorry,couldn’t resist)is a FELONY!!! This needs to be investigated since he made this claim. A crime is a crime. If he lied about being hacked, he should resign immediately. Republicans have done so with lesser situations. New York could afford to have one less Wiener.

Too funny. I know he’s going to get a pass on this but if anyone deserves days of investigation, it Rep. Weiner. Maybe one of those reporters will stumble onto something more serious. As if they would look.

Okay, I’ll play along. How many “innocent” photos of Congressman Anthony Weiner in his underwear are floating around and publicly accessible by nefarious photoshoppers or photo-croppers?

We can all learn a lesson from this. Everyone, if you do have photographs of yourself in your underwear, keep them safe. For those who don’t, it would probably be better if you never do so in the future.

“As far as the yFrog account, I’ll be very honest with you, I didn’t really know for sure what that was until this thing popped up, and I clicked on it, and then it directed me to where these photographs were being kept, an and I, I kind of quickly deleted it and moved on with my life.”

(his verbal emphasis in original).

Remember, this was right at the time of the incident!

Like Curious George, the Member sees the photo of a member, clicks on it, suddenly discovers he has a yFrog account with photos in it, and deletes the photo and/or the account!!

So, if there is any proof at all that he created the yFrog account, and especially if there were any (many?) prior instances of his having sent or “tweeted” photos being kept in that yFrog account, then Weiner was simply dissembling in his interview with Maddow, and she missed, or ignored the obvious opportunity for a follow-up.

From the NY Times story“Lawmaker Denies Sending Suggestive Photo but Doesn’t Rule Out It’s of Him” By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ:

. . .
Jack Levin, the chief executive of yFrog, the Twitter-affiliated image and video service that was used to upload the photo, said in an interview on Wednesday that his company did not have reason to believe that its user passwords were exposed or stolen. He said it was possible that the photo could have been sent from Mr. Weiner’s yFrog account through his Twitter password or through a yFrog password.

Mr. Levin said neither Mr. Weiner’s office nor any law enforcement authorities had contacted him or his company to inquire about the photo.
. . . .

So, Weiner claims in an interview with Rachel Maddow that he knew nothing about the yFrog account, yet his investigators, as of yesterday, had not even contacted yFrog with any inquiries whatsoever about the account, including when it was created, and by whom!

Nor have they inquired about when the specific photo was uploaded and by whom? Nor, presumably, have they asked about other photos that were residing in the account?